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Edgar Gomez-Carreto scored the insurance goal in the second half that ensured Mission would have a chance to win its third straight section championship.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - The 31 goals he scored during the regular season were apparently not enough to convince Edgar Gomez-Carreto that his skill set was complete.
So the striker on the Mission boys’ soccer team spent the last two weeks putting in extra time to perfect his left-footed shot-making ability and the result was a beautiful goal that all but sealed the Bears’ 2-0 win over Galileo in the San Francisco Section semifinals Wednesday at Kezar Stadium. Gomez-Carreto found a loose ball at the top of the penalty box in the 65th minute, drew it back to beat a defender and struck a lefty shot that kissed the far post before dropping into the net for Mission’s second goal.
The two-time defending champion Bears (16-8-4) then finished off the shutout victory and will play the winner of today’s Lowell-O’Connell match in Saturday’s final.
“I took my time and when I looked up I saw the goalie in the middle and went for the far side,” Gomez-Carreto said. “I score about half my goals with each foot, but I’ve really been working hard on that shot in practice. And that one went right where I wanted it.”
The perfect placement of Gomez-Carreto’s goal came after a first half in which Mission did everything but find the net. The Bears outshot Galileo 15-1 in the opening period and had nine corner kicks to zero for the Lions, but some near-misses and several strong saves from Emiliano Bautista kept the score 0-0 at the intermission.
“I told them to be aggressive and they were — we just couldn’t get one to go in,” Mission coach Scott Kennedy said. “I knew if they kept playing hard they’d be able to convert a few chances.”
The Bears promptly scored on their first shot of the second half. Midfielder Jose Adalith Cruz chased down a ball at the right-corner flag and sent a cross through the middle that Jose Gallardo-Marcias hammered home from 6 yards out, giving Mission a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute. Galileo (9-4-4) came right back and nearly equalized, but Bears goalie Jose Guevara-Fuentes came off his line to rob Donald Tchopya on a partial breakaway.
Moments later, Gomez-Carreto buried his goal to put the game on ice.
“In the first half, I was kind of getting stressed out, but I know I’m a leader and can’t give up,” Gomez-Carreto said. “Coach always tells me my turn will come, and I’m glad it did.” Mission 2, Galileo 0
S.F. Section playoffs
All matches at Kezar Stadium
SEMIFINALS
WEDNESDAY: Mission 2, Galileo 0
TODAY: Lowell vs. O’Connell, 2:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY: Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.
 Not ranked |
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Comments from Examiner Readers
1:05 PM MST on Thu., Sep. 27, 2007 re: "Pair of freshmen set tone as Lowell tops Galileo"
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Examiner Reader said:
Congratulations to Will Reisman, the Examiner writer who penned this article. It's great to see someone who is seemingly knowledgeable about soccer (or is a very quick study), and who writes about the sport with passion. The care he took to mention particular players by name, and to celebrate their exploits, I'm sure made these young players very proud. At the high school level, there are endless stories about football, while soccer -- a worldwide sport, instead of an exclusively American one -- gets far less press. Thanks for bucking the trend. I'll be looking for more from this writer. Thanks!
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